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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436708">Gramps</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishIwasMeg/pseuds/WishIwasMeg'>WishIwasMeg</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Benton Fraser Margaret Thatcher, due South</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bullying, Friendship, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:21:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,789</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishIwasMeg/pseuds/WishIwasMeg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Some twelve years after COTW, Ray Vecchio takes his son to meet some old friends in Canada.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben/Meg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Gramps</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I ain’t doin’ no stoopid horse back ridin'!” Tommy Vecchio sat with his arms folded tightly across his chest, a scowl on his face and a look that said he would punch anyone who tried to make him. His attitude was received with a mixture of exasperation, embarrassment and incomprehension by the other people in the room.</p><p>“You just watch your lip!” said his father Ray, glaring at his son with a ‘how can you embarrass me like this?’ expression.</p><p>Inspector Meg Fraser garnered all the considerable diplomatic skills she had accrued in her various postings with the RCMP and tried to soothe the situation. “It’s ok, Tommy, nobody will make you go riding if you don’t want to.  Uncle Ben and I just thought you might enjoy it.”</p><p>Madeleine Margaret Fraser, just turned 11, did what she always did when she felt uncomfortable and slipped her hand into her father’s. “Why is he being so RUDE, Daddy?” she asked in a stage whisper heard by everyone in the room. </p><p>“ ‘Cos he’s American,’’ whispered her brother Robbie equally audibly.</p><p>“Now that’s enough, you two,” said their father.  “You know your Mum and I have brought you up not to make assumptions about people based on where they are from.  There are probably just as many rude Canadians as there are rude Americans. Proportionally,” he added, being Ben.  His offspring were not convinced.</p><p>“I know,” said Meg brightly, “how about we go and get some ice cream in the kitchen and leave Daddy and Uncle Ray to talk?” Her husband shot her a grateful glance as first their own two, followed reluctantly by Tommy, made their way out of the living room.</p><p>“Gee, I’m sorry, Benny,” said Ray. “I thought bringing him up here to Canada might help, but it looks like he’s made up his mind to be awkward.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, Ray. It’s early days yet. It’s all new and strange to him. It’s only natural that he finds it hard to cope.”</p><p>Ray Vecchio looked at his friend. Benton Fraser had once told him that he envied him, but without doubt the shoe was very much on the other foot now.  After a tortuous romance in which neither would admit their true feelings, Meg and Ben had eventually found each other. They had gone their separate ways after the capture of Muldoon, but had run into each other in Ottawa six months later and seized the second chance fate had given them, and as far as he could tell, Ray reckoned they had a perfect marriage. He had been best man at their wedding twelve years before, and as the years had gone by, their love for each other seemed to have grown stronger and stronger. They were obviously still very much in love. Even in the short time he had been in their home Ray had picked up on the looks that passed between them, the little touches as they brushed past each other, the snatched kisses when they thought no-one was looking. He even reckoned he could tell that they had had sex the night before from the glow they gave off at breakfast.  And this perfect marriage had produced two perfect children - Maddy, her mother’s image with chestnut hair and chocolate brown eyes yet with her father’s sweet nature, and Robbie, two years younger, dark-haired and blue-eyed like his father and with more than a touch of his mother’s feisty spirit. Of course, thought Ray, being Canadian they are also perfectly-mannered and polite.  Maddy was her father’s little princess and could melt his heart with one look from those chocolate eyes, but neither she nor her brother was spoilt and they had been brought up to be considerate and respectful of other people. What a contrast his friend’s family was to his own sad life!<br/>

*****
After their wedding, Meg and Ben had moved to a posting as instructors at an RCMP training facility in western Canada.  It was far enough north for Ben to wallow in the “close to nature” life he loved, and just close enough to civilisation for Meg to be able to indulge her penchant for shopping and urban amenities. And more importantly as far as they were concerned, although they missed their friends in Chicago, it meant that their children were born Canadian. After many years in the wilderness, both literally and figuratively, Ben’s true worth had finally been recognised by his superiors and he had now reached the rank of inspector. The family had settled down to a comfortable existence balancing RCMP work with time on the lakeside property they used for vacations and weekends.</p><p> Ray’s life, on the other hand, in those twelve years had slowly gone down the pan. He was still working as a detective with the Chicago Police Department, but had failed to achieve promotion beyond the rank of sergeant and had settled for a life of humdrum police work.  He had made an ill-advised second marriage to Sylvia, a singer he had met at a night club in town, and from this union had sprung Tommy, but he had soon realised that he and Sylvia had little in common and they had split up when the boy was four years old.  Tommy spent most of his time with his mother and her new partner and occasional weekends and vacations with Ray when his shift pattern allowed it.  He had been a sweet kid to start with, but now at nine years old he was cheeky, disobedient and falling behind at school.  More than once Ray had been called in to speak to his teacher about his behaviour and lack of progress. He hadn’t seen too much of Ben and Meg over the years, just occasional visits when one or other of them was back in Chicago on RCMP business, and it was during one of these visits that Ray had opened up to his friend about his worries for his son. “I don’t know what to do, Benny,” he confessed.  “The kid just seems so unhappy.”</p><p>“Why don’t you bring him up to stay with us during the summer vacation?” suggested Ben. “He’s the same age as Robbie and I’m sure Meg would love to have you and Tommy stay with us.  And Maddy is a right little bossy-boots and would no doubt be delighted to teach him to ride, swim and build a campfire.” </p><p>Ray considered this and said “Yeah, that’s a great idea, Benny.  I’m sure his mother would be delighted to get him off her hands for a couple of weeks.”</p><p>*****</p><p>So it was arranged, much to the horror of city kid Vecchio Junior who could think of nothing worse than being dumped in the wilds of Canada with total strangers. His attitude from the moment of his arrival had been one of sulky belligerence which neither Ben’s kindly overtures nor Meg’s motherly attentions had managed to shift. The first day he had just sat around his room, only coming out for meals and totally livid that the Fraser kids were only allowed very limited access to television.  Not that they seemed to want to watch it anyway, being always outdoors doing something outdoorsy.  The second day Ben had arranged a visit to the local stables where the Frasers kept their horses (they were a Mountie family, after all). Tommy was dragged along after a combination of warnings and threats from his father and stood watching sullenly as Maddy and Robbie mounted their ponies.  A nice quiet pony called Sam had been selected for Tommy but he eyed it with disdain. </p><p>“I ain’t gettin’ on that for nobody!” he declared. </p><p>“Well, if you’re too scared to try….” said Maddy scornfully.</p><p>“I ain’t scared….I just don’t want to.”</p><p>“Yes you are, you are SO scared!” declared Maddy.</p><p>“I ain’t!”</p><p>“Well then, prove it!” she exclaimed, and Ben thought to himself that his daughter could well be heading for a promising career as a psychologist. Tommy was red-faced and fuming, but he knew he had to try getting on the horse to save face in front of these Canadian brats. Meg held the pony steady as Ben helped the little boy to climb on and supported him as Meg gently led the pony round the yard. With each step, Tommy’s confidence grew and he found that he was actually enjoying the experience. </p><p>“Hey, you’re doing great, Tommy,” shouted Robbie and Maddy clapped her hands in appreciation of what it had cost Tommy to get on the horse.</p><p>From then on things started to get better. Tommy, at first reluctantly because of the cold, then with growing enthusiasm followed Maddy and Robbie into the fenced off area of the lake where it was safe to swim. Once he let go of his initial fears he found he was at home in the water and soon learned to swim under Ben’s supervision. He looked forward eagerly to their daily dips. His confidence on a horse grew too, and he was soon able to ride out on Sam with the Fraser family along the easier forest trails.  He felt especially proud of this achievement as his father resolutely refused to participate.  He learned to fish and how to clean and cook his catch on a lakeside barbecue.  He found he actually LIKED the Canadian kids and for the first time in his life he had real friends, so much so that by the end of the first week he and Robbie asked if they could move into the spare bedroom and share the bunk beds which were normally kept for visits from the Thatcher or Kowalski cousins. They laughed and told stories long after lights out. The three youngsters were thick as thieves and spent many happy hours cycling along the paths through the woods around the house, always within the limits that Ben and Meg had set for them.</p><p> But Tommy’s absolutely favourite place was The Island. This was a small islet a few hundred yards from the lakeshore and the Fraser children were allowed to paddle out to it on canoes with adult supervision.  Tommy soon learned this skill and he looked forward eagerly to their adventures on The Island. The children were allowed to remain there alone with the proviso that they did not attempt to paddle back on their own, that they did not enter the lake and that they did not start fires. Tommy thought the place paradise on earth.  There were rocks to clamber over, a small stream to wade in and loads of trees to climb and swing from.  Best of all Ben had built his children a tree house high in the branches which had become their “den”.  It was stocked with cans of pop and packets of snacks. They spent hours playing Cowboys and Indians, Robin Hood, Pirates - all the adventures three imaginative children could devise. </p><p>As his visit approached its end however, Tommy began to lapse into his old sullen ways.  If truth be told, he was dreading going back to Chicago, to the school where he was bullied because of his small size and because his father was a cop. He coped the only way he could by acting tough, but inside he was miserable. In Chicago he had bottled it up inside him. There was nobody he felt he could confide in. He sensed that his mother wasn’t interested, his father would go ballistic and make things worse, his beloved Grandma Vecchio had died and his Aunts Maria and Francesca had moved away. Here in Canada he had almost told Robbie and Maddy but stopped short in case they thought he was a wimp.  They seemed so happy and self-assured.  How could they possibly understand? He thought about telling Ben or Meg, but they would probably just blab to his dad, so he kept quiet.

 He woke early on the morning of his last day and throwing on some clothes, he crept out of the bedroom without waking Robbie. Almost instinctively he headed for the canoes and although he knew it was strictly forbidden to take one out unsupervised, he paddled over to The Island, beached the boat and climbed into the tree house. He sat for ages thinking of the misery awaiting him back at school in Chicago and slowly the tears began to trickle down his cheeks.</p><p>“What’s the matter, son?” Tommy almost jumped out of his skin when he looked up and saw an elderly, grey-haired  man sitting opposite him. He was dressed in some kind of red suit, very like the ones he had seen Aunt Meg and Uncle Ben wearing in photographs. “C’mon.  Tell Gramps all about it,” said the red-clad figure.</p><p> Somehow Tommy felt he could trust this man though he had no idea who he was or how he had come to be on The Island, and he poured his heart out about all the things that were bothering him.</p><p>“Now you listen to me, son,” said Gramps. “When they start on about your dad being a cop, you just tell them that that makes him one of the bravest guys around.  You tell them that he’s a hero and that you are proud of him.  How many of their dads would risk their lives to help people? You tell them how he ran into a burning building to rescue people trapped inside; you tell them how he took a bullet saving a man’s life.  You stand up to them, son.  Bullies are cowards; if you face them off, they crumble.” </p><p>“How d’you know about my dad? Anyway, it’s easy for you to say stand up to them,” muttered Tommy, “You don’t have to face them.” </p><p>“Tell you what, son,” said Gramps, “Would it help if I was there with you? You might be able to see me or you might not, but I’ll be there standing right beside you.” </p><p> “But how…..?” said Tommy . </p><p>“Never mind how,” said the old man. “Just believe in me and more important, believe in yourself.  You’ve proved you’re a great swimmer this week. Join the school swimming club; show them what you can do.  Believe in yourself,” he said again, “and things will work out just fine. You’ll see!”</p><p>Tommy heard someone shout his name and saw Ben paddling out towards The Island.  When he turned round, the old man was nowhere to be seen. After getting back to the house, he got a dressing down from his father for taking the canoe out on his own, but somehow he didn’t mind and spent the rest of the day with his Canadian friends making the most of his remaining time.</p><p>“He seems to have cheered up a lot,” Meg whispered to Ray.  “I thought he was dreading going back to Chicago.” </p><p>Tommy overheard this and said,  “It’s ok now, Aunt Meg.  Everything’s gonna be all right.  Gramps promised he’d be there standin’ by me.”</p><p>It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the room.  Meg and Ben looked at each other open-mouthed. </p><p>“ Er……where did you meet Gramps, Tommy?” asked Ben. </p><p> “Oh, he was on The Island,” replied Tommy.</p><p> Robbie and Maddy giggled and Maddy said “Well if Gramps is on your side, you’re laughing”, while their mother shot them a warning shake of the head.</p><p>“Who the heck is Gramps?” asked Ray.</p><p> “Oh he’s the g…” began Ben only to be interrupted by Meg who knew that her husband could not tell a lie to save his life (the lives of his wife and children, at a push, but certainly not his own).<br/>
“Oh he’s a….an old gentleman who drops by to see us now and then. If he’s promised to help Tommy, you can be sure he will,” said Meg. The Fraser children chortled. One day they would tell Tommy, but not yet.</p><p>And so the Vecchios’ Canadian visit came to an end.  One of Ben’s staff was driving down to the airport that afternoon and offered to transport the Americans for their flight.  Among all the goodbye hugs Tommy said “Thanks very much for having me.  Can I come back next year?” Of course,” said Meg and Ben together, while Robbie and Maddy promised to keep in touch and send him pictures of Sam, “his” pony. As they waved their final goodbyes, Ben slid his arm round his wife’s waist. </p><p>“Well, love,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder, “that turned out all right in the end, didn’t it?”</p><p>“It did, my darling,” he replied, gently stroking her hair. Ben looked out into the distance and murmured softly, “Thanks, Dad.”</p><p> “It was a pleasure, son,” said Robert Fraser from somewhere far away.</p>
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